D820
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LG's Nexus 5 visits the FCC again, this time with clearer external shots
New FCC documents spotted by Phone Scoop have given us a closer look at what could be LG's rumored Nexus 5 handset. Curiously, photos of this D820 were filed alongside documentation for Verizon's G2 (VS980), but the clear view of the front and back appears to be of the same LG-branded smartphone that was approved by the FCC just a week ago. The D820 offers same rounded-off top and bottom edges found on the Nexus 4, while stepping away from the glass-covered back of its predecessor. Last week's FCC filing also points to LG including a 5-inch display and a Snapdragon 800 SoC, boosting not only its size but performance too. There's also room for Qi wireless charging and support for 7-band LTE, Bluetooth 4.0, NFC and dual-band 802.11 b/g/n/ac. While the shots don't feature the same giant Nexus logo we saw on the mysterious LG phone used by a Google employee recently, we're almost certainly looking at the same device. We just hope he got to keep his job.
LG Nexus 5 with LTE makes probable appearance in FCC (update: 5-inch display, Snapdragon 800)
The oft-rumored Nexus 5 is turning into quite a riddle. If you've been following the saga, there has been no shortage of drama in recent memory. Most recently we saw a Google employee snapping pictures with an unknown LG-branded Nexus at HQ in Mountain View -- in an official video, no less, which was almost immediately taken down -- and now a smartphone dubbed the D820 has been approved by the FCC. Certainly, we don't want to just assume that every LG phone getting Federal approval for the foreseeable future is an N5, but there are a few clues in the paperwork that give us plenty of reason to nail this down as the primary suspect: first, the image above, taken from a section detailing the device's Qi wireless charging capabilities, shows the inside of the back cover. When comparing it to the phone revealed at the HQ slip-up, the two pictures line up incredibly well. The D820 also features 7-band LTE, some of which are compatible with AT&T, T-Mobile and Sprint (bands 2/4/5/17/25/26/41), CDMA / EVDO rev A, pentaband DC-HSPA+ and quadband GSM / EDGE, Bluetooth 4.0, NFC and dual-band 802.11 b/g/n/ac. That's an amazingly healthy list of specs for your usual FCC submission, and the list of LTE bands is quite stunning as well. If it's not the Nexus 5, it's certainly going to be one heckuva flagship. Question is, how much doubt do you have? As usual, we leave you with the docs for you in case you have a burning desire to do some digging yourself. Update: Our commenters have noticed some more nuggets in one of the docs: an admission that the phone is running firmware M8974A, and the software version listed is "aosp_hammerhead-userdebugKyeLimePieFACTORYeng.sangjoon84.lee.20130618.015154." The firmware seems to indicate a Snapdragon 800 SoC, which wouldn't surprise us in the least, and the software appears to suggest that it's running KitKat (Key Lime Pie), weird typo aside. Update 2: In a good catch by Brian Klug from Anandtech, the docs also clearly indicate that this device will have a 5-inch display (4.96-inch, to be exact), and measure 131.9mm tall and 68.2mm wide. Check out the screenshot here.
ZTE shows off recent smartphones at Wireless Japan
China's ZTE is still sticking to the low end in North America, but in its home country, the manufacturer is a huge player. Evidence of that lies strewn about ZTE's booth at Wireless Japan this week, where it's showing a pair of WinMo devices plus a Linux-based model that look ripe to compete with some of the best in the world. First up, the RAISE and XIANG do WinMo and HSPA for China Unicom's Wo network, rocking 5 and 3.2 megapixel cameras, respectively. The D820 reps the open-source world (though we're not sure what kind of Linux distro is running on it -- it's not Android, if we had to guess) and runs CDMA with WiFi, GPS, and a 2 megapixel camera. We're not sure if ZTE is using phones like these as warmups for more global launches, but given what we're seeing here -- and the low price points they're likely looking to hit -- we're all for it.[Via Pocket PC Thoughts]
Dell throws down the Sprint EV-DO love
Hooo boy, there's nothing we love more than faster internet access available everywhere we go. Dell's just announced a new deal with Sprint to provide integrated EV-DO access on its D420, D620 (pictured), D820, XPS M1210 and M65 lappies. (Of course, Dell has offered EV-DO and HSDPA on the D620 and D820 previously, but this brings it to a few more models.) Alternatively, you can buy a Dell Wireless 5700-S internal mini-card for your existing lappie for $180 (whether Dell will also offer an ExpressCard version for Sprint remains to be seen) -- but in either case, you'll have to pay $60 per month for a two-year unlimited data access contract (if you have a voice plan, otherwise it's $80 a month). This'll give us yet another reason to consider forking over the coinage for serious connectivity; that EDGE stuff is getting real old.
